Building Credible and Impactful L&D: Forget the Get-Rich-Quick Buzzwords

There has never been a better time to be in learning and development. 

First, we have the burning challenge of a large-scale skills gap. Second, we have the technology to help us finally fulfill our potential. 

However, we need to change how we think of our role, which isn’t just to make learning better. Our role is to help people do the jobs they’re employed to do today, and help them improve their prospects for tomorrow—all the while linking that with our organization’s ambitions. 

In this article, we outline the elements that can help us reach our full potential by examining the paradox of change within L&D, and explore insights from John Hinchcliffe, Digital Learning Experience Manager at Emirates National Bank of Dubai, who emphasizes the importance of credibility, impactful practice, and the evolution of key skills in driving meaningful change in L&D.

Get all the details in the full episode of The L&D Podcast: Starting Out In L&D with John Hinchcliffe.

The paradox of change in L&D

When assessing where learning and development is now and how far we’ve come, there appears to be a paradox: Everything has changed, but hardly anything has changed.

As an industry, we get caught up in the conversations about buzzwords and the next big thing, but how many L&D professionals don't follow through? As John Hinchcliffe explains, think about how many organizations are still offering one-hour storyline courses that aren't meeting the needs of their learners or organization. 

“We focus so much on the get-rich-quick buzzwords,” he says, “that AI is going to revolutionize everything, but how many people are going beyond making a few statements on the impact of ChatGPT?”

L&D should focus more on being practitioners and asking those hard questions so we can deploy the right learning solution. However, part of the challenge is that our stakeholders expect learning to be done in a certain way.

When you speak with other experienced L&D professionals, you will learn that your L&D practice can build credibility and shift stakeholder expectations by solving your organization's real pain points and performance issues. 

Building credibility and impact in L&D

Learning and development is very different when you have credibility inside your organization.

L&D practices should focus on impact rather than just producing outputs. To build credibility, you and your team should focus on showing your impact through data and feedback. 

John Hinchcliffe says L&D needs to “delve deep in the beginning.” That means identifying the problem and the solution needed. For a long time, L&D has focused heavily on how we repackage output and how we do it quickly. But John explains it’s how you taste and get an understanding of what is relevant.

Impactful L&D starts with connecting the dots between what your team is doing, what you need to do, and what your organization needs—and bringing all that together. Next, you need to demonstrate quick, small results to help your stakeholders understand and see that you and your team are there to help.

The evolution of L&D skills

Learning and development is seeing the emergence of core skills and roles in our profession in response to changes in how people can learn.

There are three new roles and skills that are growing within our industry.

Content curators

Technology has helped grow content curators because organizations need somebody to make sense of their large libraries through congruent playlists.

The role of content curators is growing, especially as more organizations leverage learning experience platforms. Content curation is the skill of understanding how to filter and the length of time that a learning experience needs to be to meet a learner’s needs and workflow.

Platform specialists

Buying a learning platform is just ten percent of your solution because you have to roll out implementation and set up your team and communications within the tool. 

“The platform is not just somewhere where your content is housed; it's where your content lives.” - John Hinchcliffe

Platform specialists optimize their learning solutions by incorporating different elements, leveraging the features to the maximum effect, and curating content to meet employees’ learning needs when and where they need it.

Marketing for learning

Many organizations are getting on board with marketing for learning because they understand that just because you build and deploy learning experiences does not necessarily mean employees will engage with the content. 

Marketing is crucial because employees have many elements pulling on them in their time and workflows. Marketing for learning is all about how to entice your learners, bring them value, and meet them where they are.

Advice for young L&D professionals

If you want to make a real impact in your L&D practice, your first step should be understanding what your employees and organization need. Find a mentor to help you grow your personal development and network as much as possible. 

You should also taste as much as you can within the industry. Test out different software and methodologies. Consider consuming as much industry-specific information as possible, such as an L&D podcast or newsletter. 

“Get a mentor, network as much as possible, taste as many things as possible, and find out what really resonates with you. But also, where can you connect the dots of what an organization needs?” - John Hinchcliffe

Thanks to John for sharing his insights with us. Listen to our episode of The L&D Podcast: Starting Out In L&D with John Hinchcliffe to get the full scoop.

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